Set in Ramsden, Yorkshire in 1916, the plot centers on the chorus master and most of the men of the ambitious local Choral Society, who have volunteered for the front. Under the direction of the demanding, driven Dr. Guthrie, the Choral recruits a crop of teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the joys of singing and the urgency of desire as the new boys come to terms with their imminent conscription into the army.